HighOctaneLove wrote:The car I made is something that I'd personally choose over the usual turbo 4 cylinder AWD's that'll be all over this comp
I got that feeling too, but in fact the best solution here isn't necessarily a turbo 4 cylinder... it's probably a naturally aspirated V8. It's got better prestige for 8 cylinders, can easily make 300hp at low displacements (so it can fit any which way you like), be made to be more efficient, use cheaper tech, is essentially half price because it doesn't use turbo, and is tamer, but also sportier and more comfortable because it's more way responsive. If I used a RWD V8 instead of a FF turbo i4 I could have way better points in tameness, sportiness, comfort and prestige easily and have money in hand and use no more gas at the pump, plus go as fast, if not faster around the track. The main thing that balances it out is the loss of utility. Also, I wouldn't use the not-2002 Civic shell, I'd use the not-2000 Civic shell as it's lighter and frankly easier to fit everything in and I could use 4 seats if I wanted to sacrifice a few points of utility, I could get all round better performance and comfort and times around the track by sinking the extra money into the tyres. In this scenario, using AWD actually can be a drawback, because it wrecks your choice of engine and body, puts an extra hundred plus kilos on your car and the powers we're getting generally isn't enough to make a positive difference to most aspects of performance.
But like highoctanelove, while I know how to 'win' this challenge, I insist on using a 'faithful' format typical of hot hatches because the extra challenge is more fun that way. It definitely
won't win (as you can see, it's already actually the slowest car in most aspects of straight line performance), but I'm interested to see how it does against its mostly higher powered competitors on the track. Plus it has insanely good utility rating! (not something you'd ever catch a Gryphon Gear tuner saying ever...)